Thread: Farmworker exodus averted;'07 Freeze

Relief efforts helped thaw a devastating '07 freeze
Farmworker exodus was averted
By Stephanie Hoops (Contact)

A year ago, Ventura County growers were battling a devastating freeze that caused millions of dollars in crop damage. But those involved in relief efforts say there was much gained in the lessons learned.

Despite losing an estimated $281 million worth of crops to the cold snap, area growers were able to stave off a mass exodus of farmworkers.

The reason: Businesses and community organizations stepped up to provide aid when government assistance was held up.

It was one positive aspect of the massive blow to the county's $1.5 billion agriculture industry. Asked if growers have rebounded over the past year, Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Earl McPhail said Friday, "Pretty much everybody (has), but the avocado growers lost a lot of fruit. Avocado (growers), they had to do a lot of severe pruning, so they won't have a full crop until next year."

What people remembered this week was that many affected farmworkers were in the country illegally, so state and local agencies were restricted or delayed in providing funds to help those laid off when crops were ruined.

"There were farmworkers who definitely left the area because there was no work, and it was hard for them to survive," said Jeffrey Ponting, directing attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance. "But I think that because of the efforts of a lot of the community-based organizations, once aid was freed up, a lot of low-income people in Ventura County impacted by the freeze were able to sustain themselves and did not have to leave."

When the freeze hit last year from Jan. 12 to 19, growers made it clear that "they needed people who know what they're doing in our fields," said Pat Esseff, who provides client services for Catholic Charities in the Ventura County region.

Taking the cue, several businesses and organizations gathered to assist.

"I think there is an attitude that was dispelled in some of our meetings," Esseff said. In the minds of those who took part in those discussions, "labor" was redefined.

"I think it's a real triumph of community," said Ellen Brokaw, owner of Brokaw Nursery in Saticoy. "In 1990, we had a severe freeze, and nothing like this happened."

Overcoming bureaucracy

When overnight temperatures plunged here and elsewhere in the state to the mid-20s and low 30s, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger quickly announced the opening of "one-stop" assistance centers. They were touted as places where displaced farmworkers could find "job and unemployment assistance, support with food programs, healthcare information, warming center location information and other essential services."

But immigration laws blocked assistance from going to anyone who didn't have a Social Security number or proof of eligibility to work.

Many farmworkers are undocumented immigrants, who are eligible only for social services such as child care assistance and referrals to food distribution programs. Realizing displaced workers might leave the region, growers organized a meeting in Oxnard with employee advocacy groups, private organizations and federal, state and local elected officials.

"It's a true testament to the culture of the people in Ventura County, because there wasn't an ego at the table," said Ann Sobel, special projects manager for the FOOD Share food bank group.

After the meeting, community organizations pulled together and collected donations that took a seed fund from $40,000 to more than $763,000 in cash, stipends and services.

"We were able to identify in a few weeks where the workers were, how to access them, and had schedules of assistance," Sobel said.

Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger's office and other state agencies, realizing what was happening, figured out a way to move money to farmworkers affected by the freeze. Emergency loans began flowing to farmers and grants to the food banks. The state, for example, allocated $461,235 to the Center for Employment Training in Oxnard to help Ventura County farmworkers pay their rent.

The federal Farm Service Agency set aside $5 million from an emergency conservation program for affected Southern California counties. Agency spokesman Paul Lehman said money also has been made available from a longer-term crop disaster program. He did not have a breakdown of how much each county has received.

Governor gets Bush's help

"There are good people in government who push the levers to free up money," Ponting said. "When pushed in the right direction, they found they could do a good job of getting money to those agencies directly in contact with those impacted people."

The governor also got President Bush to declare the freeze a disaster, which ultimately opened the door for undocumented workers to obtain more assistance under the federal Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. The law has been used to bypass eligibility requirements during past disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina.

"It was one of the fastest responses I've seen at the state level," Sobel said.

"I think Ventura County is better prepared if a future disaster occurs now than last year," Ponting said. "I think the experience of the community-based organizations working together will be extremely beneficial for the future."

Of the county's 1,800 to 2,000 commercial farming operations, about half reported losses because of the freeze, according to McPhail.

"We all had crops affected, but some worse than others," said Brokaw, who grows subtropical fruit trees at a nursery in Saticoy and avocados at a ranch in Santa Paula.

Estimates show nursery stock was the hardest hit from one of the worst freezes on record, with losses totaling $85.4 million. That was followed by avocados, $66.5 million; berries, $62.8 million; lemons, $46.6 million; oranges and other citrus, $13.8 million; and leafy vegetables, $5.5 million.

The estimates reflect losses but not additional costs, including lost trees that took years to grow, replanting expenses and loss of future revenue.

McPhail estimates the larger effect to the local economy was $750 million, partly because industries dependent on agriculture, such as trucking and packaging, also suffered.

http://tinyurl.com/2lm8qk

No body could have predicted it either
It hit us all real hard…

This article shows that farmers and state agencies can pull together to get over a hurdle. The fact that illegal farmworkers were not eligible for certain types of public assistance is rather minor. They are already getting paid at a rate far in excess of what they would earn at home, so if they did receive assistance from us, it too, would be much greater than what they could get at home.

If farmers and state agencies can cooperate to overcome such hurdles they should also be able to cooperate to find ways to reduce the labor demand--and reliance on imported labor. The path for each farmer would be different, and some might not be able to implement any advanced technology at all. I would accept that it is the bigger agricultural concerns that would be able to profitably modernize. Agricultural fairs and expositions are a showcase for the most recent labor saving innovations. Tulare, California will host the World Ag Expo this February 12-16.